Road-engine



4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F. L. FAIRGH'ILD. Road-Engine. vNo. 225,695.

Patented Mar. 23. 1880.

IVENTOR WITNESS'ES NJETERSA PHOTO 4 Sheets-Sheet 2. F. L. FAIRCHILD. Road-Engine. No. 225,695. Patented Mar. 23, |880.L

Few r 5MM i MATTORNEY,

N.PEIERS. PHcTO-LTHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTCN D C.

4 Sheets-sheen 3 P. L. PAIRGHILD. Road-Engine. No. 225,695. PatentedM'ar. 23,1880.

INVENTOR FMCL'ZJ WITNESSES /uJ ATTORNEY.

NFEIERS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D C` NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK L. FAIROHILD, OF MOUNT VERNON, OHIO.

ROAD-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,695, dated March 23, 1880.

Application tiled February 6, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. FATRCHILD, of Mount Vernon, Knox county, Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Traction or Road Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is directed to obtaining a simple, cheap, and effective arrangement of devices for imparting motion from the engine to the driven truck-wheels of a traction-engine in such a way as to permit either Wheel to travel faster than the other when the engine turns or travels in a curved path also, to readily admit of the machine backing or going forward at pleasure without reversing the movement of the engine-shaft, and also to permit the wheels to be thrown into and out of gear at pleasure with the driving or engine shaft.

I am aware that various combinations of devices have heretofore been used for the foregoing purposes. It is my object to obtain these results by an arrangement. and combination. of devices simpler, more cbnvenient, and more effective than those heretofore used,

The nature of my invention and the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect can best be explained and understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a side elevation of a tractionengine embodying my improvement. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same, partly in elevation, in the plane passing through the rear axle. Fig. 3 is a plan, partly in horizontal section, of the shifting mechanism. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation, the line of section being through the hub of one of the shifting-gears. Fig. 5 is a plan, and Fig. 6 a side elevation, of the slide-bar connecting said shifting-gears. Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the face-plate which holds said bar in place.

A is the boiler, B the fire-box, and O the smoke-stack, of atraction-en gine provided with an engine or driving shaft, D, supported in suitable bearings on the boiler and driven from the engine E by the usual crank and connecting-rod.

The pivoted front truck or axle is shown at F, and the machine is provided with a pole or tongue, G, attached to the axle or truck F, for

.also at times draws the machine.

attachment of the team which guides and The rear axle is shown at H, mounted in this instance in suitable bearings in front of the fire-box.

Upon the rear axle, on one side of the boiler, is mounted compensating -gear, here shown as composed of a large bevel-toothed wheel, a., mounted loosely on the axle and provided with loose bevel-pinions b, which meshV into the beveled-gear wheels c d, one on each side of the central gear, a.

The gear c is fast on the axle. The gear d is loose thereon, but is attached rigidly to the adjoining rear truck-wheel, l. The other rear truck-wheel, J, on the other side of the boiler, is fast to the axle. A compensating-gear thus organized is not, per sc, new with me. It is shown here as one form of compensating-gear adapted to be used in connectionwith the other devices hereinafter mentioned, in whose combination and arrangement with the compensating-gear, axle, and truck-wheels myimprovement resides.

The main wheel a of the compensating-gear meshes with a bevel-pinion,f, on thelower end ofthe inclined rotaryshaft K, whichis supported in suitable bearings on the boiler, and has at its upper end a bevel-gear wheel, g. The latter wheel lies between two beveled-gear wheels, h and i, mounted on the engine-shaft D, and connected with the same by a spline and groove, or equivalent connection, so that while revolving with the shaft they may slide longitudinally thereon and together.

The distance between the two gears is such that by moving them the proper distance either one at pleasure can be thrown into engagement with the wheel g, or both of them can be held ont of engagement therewith, thus furnishing a ready means of rotating the inclined shaft in either direction, or of disconnecting it entirely from the engineshaft at pleasure. To actuate the gears h lto thus move I make use of a single handle or bent lever, L, pivoted at j to the machine, with the rounded or ball-shaped end k of its shorter arm workingin a socket, l,in the transverselysliding bar M, provided with yoke shaped ends, which straddle the hubs of the gears h fand enter annular grooves n therein. The bar M thus connects the two gears, holds them the proper distance apart, and causes them to IOO move on the engine-shaft simultaneously and together.

The bar M is supported in a proper bearing or guides, o, on the machine, and is held in place by a face-plate, p, bolted to the bearing o, and slotted at r, lo permit the necessary range of movement to the lever L, which is bent, as shown, so that its handle end will be brought into convenient proximity to the drivers seat.

A sectoral or curved bar, t, fixed on the machine, is provided with a groove, u, in which runs a stop-pin on the under side of thelever L, and in the bottom of the groove are three holes or sockets, v, into which the pin will en ter, the end sockets being so placed as to hold the handle in either one of its extreme posi-S1 tions, in which one or the other of thegears h tis brought into engagement with the gear g, while the intermediate socket holds the handle in a position in which both gears l1, t' are out ot' engagement with the gear g.

By this simple arrangement I transmit motion direct from the engine-shaft to the rear truck-axle, and am enabled, through the medium of a single handle within easy reach of the driver, to reverse the movement of themachine without reversing the engine or driving shaft, and to connect the rear truck-wheels with or disconnect them from the engine at pleasure without stopping the engine.

A modied arrangement of the gear-shiftin g mechanism is shown in Figs. 8, 9,10. In this arrangement the gears It t are keyed on a sleeve, w, mounted on the engine-shaft and connected therewith by a feather-and-groove connection, which will permit the sleeve to slide lengthwise on the shaft. In the hub of gear t is an annular groove, m, which is entered by pins y in the yoke-shaped end of the pivoted shiftinglever L.

A further modification of the mechanism is shown in Figs. 1l and 12-the formera sectional plan, and the latter a sectional elevatiolnof the mechanism. This arrangement is intended to secure less speed and greater power when backing the machine. To this end the upper beveled pinion, g, of the inclined shaft K is really a double pinion, the set of teeth l, struck on the larger circle, being intended to engage the backing-gear ion drivingshaft D, while 'the set of teeth 2, struck on the smaller circle, is adapted to engage the gear h, for imparting forward movement. Under this arrangement the gear 'i alone slides. Gear h is1oose on the driving-shaft, and remains permanently in engagement with the teeth 2, and is thrown into and out of connection with the driving-shaft D by means of a sliding clutch, L, which is connected by a spline-and-groove connection with shaft D. The clutch is provided with a grooved hub, and is connected with the gear z' by the sliding bar M, in the manner hereinbefore described, so that it will move longitudinallyT on the shaft D in unison with gear t'. The slidebar M is operated, as above described, by lever L. The lever, when moved to one extreme, throws the gear t' into engagement with teeth l of pinion g, and disengages the clutch from gear la, which is thus loose on shaft D. When moved to the other extreme the lever throws the clutch into engagement with gear h and moves gear t' out of engagement with teeth l, and when the lever is brought to the point midway between the extremes both the clutch h and the gear t are out of engagement with their gears g and h, so that no motion is imparted to the inclined shaft.

Having described my improvement, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. In combination, the rear axle and its truckwheels, the compensating -gear mounted on said axle, the inclined shaft with pinions f g, the engineshaft, the gears M, mounted thereon and connected substantially as described, and the shifting-lever L, Vsaid parts being constructed, combined, and arranged for joint operation as hereinbefore `shown and specified.

2. The combination of the double pinion .l 2, the shaft D, the gears h t', the slide-bar M, connected to and communicating with said gears, as described, and the lever L, these parts being arranged to jointly operate, substantially as hereinbefore shown and set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this lst day of December, 1879.

. FRANK L. FAIRCHILD.

Witnesses:

E. A. DICK, M. Gnoaen. 

